How NOT to name your warrior cat
by Latice-And-Ribbon
Summary: If you're reading this, you've either got cats to name or names to check. Good luck with your cats. (Fixed) UPDATE: I will no longer be replying to reviews or complaints. The guide is written by me, so of course it's opinionated.


So, you're probably here because you don't know what to name your warrior cat. Well. This guide is how NOT to do it, so it leaves you with some definite names to rule out. There are quite a few rules in the naming of cats, so read on if you wish to have a sensible name that sounds nice. Anyway, good luck with your story!

**No spiritual meanings**

I'm sure that at least once, you've come across a cat who's named themselves Starkit or something. Sure, it sounds nice; Starmist, Stargleam, Starlight, Starshade etc, but what if they become leader? Starstar isn't a good name. Besides, you are naming your kit after Starclan. That's like naming your kid God in the real world. Star is not a good prefix, try something else.

Another thing that I see is cats naming themselves Angelkit and such. Cats do not know what angels are. The only heavenly beings to them are Starclan. Anything like this, such as Spiritkit, Soulkit denote higher levels of being. This would suggest that your cat is above the rest. The only reason that leaders get "Star" for the end of their name is because they share a bond with Starclan. The name distinguishes them as leader.

Examples: Starkit, Angelkit, Spiritkit, Soulkit, Demonkit

**No foreign objects.**

For the last time, cats do not know what precious gems and metals are. This applies to cats with names such as Rubyshade or Diamondgleam. Cat's cannot unearth these materials, and even if they did, they wouldn't know what to call them. I've seen very pretty names, like Pearlflower and such, but they are not allowed because cats _do not know what Pearls are._ The reason that Gold and Silver work is because they are classed as colours. Cats can have "silver" or "gold" fur.

Also, if it's a Twoleg object, _do not use it_. This means no "Carkit" or "Housekit". You need to stick with things that are seen in the books. This is probably one of the most important rules in my opinion.

Examples: Rubykit, Sapphirekit, Emeraldkit, Diamondkit, Metalkit, Pearlkit

**No out of area plants.**

Now here's something I see a lot. People name their cats things like Pineapplekit or Fruitkit. Unless your story is set in a tropical setting, most of these names are impossible. Another I see is Coconutkit, and even Cactuskit. For a Cactus, the cat would have to be in the desert. If they are, then it is acceptable to name your cat "Cactuskit". Personally, I'm not a fan of the name but it's your story. (Orange is okay because it's a colour)

As for Coconutkit, this could be a plausible name if your cats lived on a Hawaiian island. Yet even then, the name just sounds silly. I'll be covering names like this in a different rule, so stay tuned.

It really depends on where your story is set_._

Examples: Pineapplekit, Fruitkit, Cactuskit, Coconutkit, Lupinekit etc

**No foreign animals.**

A common naming scheme that I've seen is naming cats after animals. Now theres nothing wrong with this if you name them after, say a squirrel, mouse, badger, fox, vole etc. But what I have a problem with is names like "Dogkit". This would be something that a queen would not name her kit, as dogs are considered bad. Just because they were mentioned in the first series doesn't mean that a queen would use the name. I suppose it's almost an insult. Even then, I've seen cats named ridiculous things like "Coyotepaw" and "Zebrapaw". Something that's common about all these names? None of these animals are around in the Warrior books.

However, names like Tigerkit, Lepoardkit and Lionkit are legal because they're ancient cats. This means that the clan cats DO know about them.

Examples: Dogkit, Coyotekit, Zebrakit, and any-other-foreign-animalkit

**Alliteration doesn't always work.**

Names that alliterate don't necessarily break any rules. They just sound stupid. Read these aloud; Fernfur, Lichenlight, Lightleaf, Fernfoot. They all sound a little off, don't they? This is why you should avoid alliteration. It simply makes the name sound silly.

Alliterating names: Fernfur, Coconutkit, Lichenlight, Lightleaf, Fernfoot, Squirrelspots

However, names like Silverstream and Sandstorm can work. Just make sure that you read the name aloud before you use it, or ask the opinion of someone else.

**Some names just sound silly**

Some names just sound silly. They don't break rules, though. Take for example, any of the alliterating names. Read them aloud before you use them. Let's take one of my all-time favourite names; Rosenose. It rhymes, and sounds stupid when you read it aloud. Another that I just made up is "Bumblewhiskers". I think the main thing that doesn't work about this name is how both the prefix and the suffix have two syllables. It works for some names, like "Hollyflower" and "Spottedflower". Generally, the suffix flower works with two syllable prefixes, but it's one of the one exceptions to the rule.

Examples: Rosenose, Bumblewhiskers, Berryblossom, Runningshadow, and anything with Whisper in it.

**Simple isn't always bad.**

A common misconception is that in order to have interesting characters, you have to have a unique name. This is not really the case. Plain old Blackfur can be just as interesting a character as Destinywish, except her name isn't as ridiculous and outlandish. A complex name doesn't make your character interesting. For all we know, your character has a terrible story.

Blackfur: A slightly unfriendly she. She doesn't stand out much, and is always frustrated with her lack of a colourful coat. She never knew her father, and her goal is to find out who he is, and therefore who she is.

Destinywish: Super friendly, nice she-cat. Both her mother and father were killed by Thunderclan when she was a kit, so she has developed a hatred for them. She has a lovely white pelt and bright blue eyes. She stands out in a crowd.

Destinywish isn't necessarily a more interesting character, she just has a stupid name. I see a lot of cats like this, and I don't know why other cats in their story don't question them on their names. There is nothing wrong with a simple-to-the-point name, like Snowpelt or Blackfur.

A character does not need a unique name to be a main character. Take for example, my character Littlepaw. Her name is simple, describes a physical feature (size) and it suits her. My other main character though, Echowish breaks this rule. Yes, I'm guilty of it. Echowish doesn't describe how she looks, how she acts or anything. I just like the way it sounds... Slightly exotic is fine, just not never heard of before. There are no other Erin Hunter cats named "Destinypaw".

Good names: Snowpelt, Blackfur, Tigerpaw, Stripefur (Describe physical features)

Over the top names: Destinywish, Flowersparkle, Wishsparkle, Shimmerwish (Needlessly exotic, describe nothing)

**Renames are fine too.**

I'm sure that you've met cats named things like "Brokenleg" and "One-eye". Now ask yourself, would you name your kit "Brokenkit"? That's cruel. It's like naming your child "Damaged", especially if they haven't done anything yet. Brokenstar is a special case, because it describes how Yellowfang felt when she had him. That's fine, but only in this case. Just because one canon character has done it, doesn't mean that you can twist your characters backstory to get the name that you want. The other reason that the name "Brokenkit" worked because it also described his appearence; the bent tail. Names like Brokenleg and One-eye are okay, so long as they are renames and not names given at birth.

Acceptable renames: Brokenleg, Brokentail, One-eye

**Weapons are not acceptable names.**

This is a common naming scheme, and it never works. For example, Swordtooth or Daggerheart. Cats do not know what weapons are, so they would be unable to use names like this no matter how suiting they are.

Examples: Swordtooth, Daggerheart, Spikeclaw,

**Dream names are not okay.**

I'm sure that you've seen cats names things like "Dreamkit" and "Swiftdream". Things like that. However, in the warriors world, dreams are held in very high regard. They are messages from your ancestors, so it would be considered disrespectful to name your kitten like this.

Examples: Dreamkit, Swiftdream

**What's Summer?**

Have you ever seen cats named things like "Summerheart" and "Winterbreeze"? Well, to cats, these seasons don't exist. To you, it's Summerheart. To the warriors, its Greenleafheart.

Examples: Summerheart, Winterbreeze, Autumspirit

**Cats have simple minds**

Cats have simple minds. When a cat has black fur, they name is Blackkit. Not Ebonykit, Coalkit (which is incorrect also for being unobtainable to cats) Obsidiankit, Onyxkit. Cats may name it something like "Raven", "Soot", "Dark", or "Back". There's nothing wrong with those names, they're just more simple and to the point.

Examples: Ebonykit*, Coalkit, Obsidiankit, Onyxkit, Scarletkit, Crimsonkit

*I've had some complaints that there is an "Ebonyclaw" in Skyclan. I wrote this, fully aware of that fact because Ebonyclaw is a DAYLIGHT warrior and may have had Ebony as a kittypet name before she left for the forest. It is also a Skyclan name, which tend to be different.

**Try not to make full words.**

There's nothing wrong with full words, and it's just a personal preference to me. Names like Thunderstorm, Raindrop. This isn't entirely necessary, it's just my opinion.

Examples: Thunderstorm, Raindrop, Snowstorm

**Redundancy doesn't always work.**

Ever seen a cat named "Browntree", or "Blackshadow"? Even though neither of the suffixes have been used in the book, do I really need to tell you that a tree is brown, or blood is red? If you have a colour, try not to follow up the name with something of that colour. The two words mean the same thing.

Examples: Browntree, Redblood, Whitesnow, Greenleaf, Bluesky, Blackshadow, Darkshadow

* * *

It appears that we are at the end of my guide. I hope I helped. This guide was meant to teach you what not to do, so it leaves you with many options. To finish this guide, I will give you some example names which could work for your cats.

Blackfur

Snowpelt

Sootfeather

Ravenwing

These names are quite good, because you can tell how kittens look.

Thank you for reading my guide. I wish you luck in naming your cats. Remember, simple is okay! Naming your cat Destinywish doesn't make it any better than the others! **(A.N Some of these points are from Ebonycrow's guide, though a very outdated version.)**


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